1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for securing stacks of material to the ground, and specifically stacks of loose materials such as grain, salt, coal, etc., employing anchors about the edges of the material with a cover sheet held down by a series of straps secured between the anchors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous systems have been developed for covering piles of particulate material, such as sand, salt, grain, coal and the like. Such systems are intended to protect the covered material from the elements. For example, as can be readily appreciated, it is necessary when storing grain that the grain be kept under relatively controlled conditions with respect to moisture and temperature. As technology and industry has progressed, the quantities and varieties of materials which can be stored out of doors has greatly increased. Stacks of material such as salt, grain and packaged goods are often several hundred feet long and range up to fifty feet high.
One example of a cover system for protecting a large stack of material is disclosed in Double et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,527, which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent discloses a cover system where a cover is retained over a stack of material by loose particulate piled upon the edge of the cover around the base of the stack, and an intertwined series of cables passing over the cover. The cables are held off of the cover material by a series of load distribution devices (old vehicle tires) which distribute any loading or binding of the cable on the cover, thereby reducing the possibility of the cable chaffing the cover and cutting a hole through it. Handerworker U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,029 shows another arrangement for covering a pile or stack of particulate material where old tires are used as ballast to hold the cover down upon the material stack. In Handerworker, the cover is not held down by a series of cables running over it, but rather has reinforcing webbing sewn directly into the cover at cover section seams.
While the particulate covering system shown in the Double et al. patent works generally well in practice, recent developments have made such arrangements impractical. In order to employ the covering scheme as disclosed in the Double et al. or Handerwork patents, a supply of old tires was needed for cover ballast. Such tires are becoming increasingly scarce as the capability to recycle them into worthwile materials has developed. In addition, environmental concerns have arisen regarding the use of such tires. Typically, a small pool of water is retained inside of an abandoned tire, which provides a breeding ground for mesquitos and other vermin. Further, the use of discarded tires (i.e., trash) is viewed by some as asthetically displeasing. For these reasons, resistence and obstacles have developed to the continued use of discarded tires in connection with systems for covering particulate material out of doors. The present invention was thus developed as an economically and environmentally workable alternative to material covering arrangemets which use old tires.